Is faith a choice?

Question

Why are the ones who believe faith is a choice, the same ones who claim nothing will ever change their mind?

Answer 1

it isnt really a choice for me , I believe what I do because it makes sense for me
the same as it makes sense for me that evolution is true
I add up the facts and if it makes sense and feels right , then I accept it
I cant change my mind about that unless presented with facts that contradict
for some though there is no choice for another reason.... they are raised in that faith and know no other

Answer 2

Faith really isnt even a choice. Faith is an instinct that we chose to trust in or not, but Faith itself is not a choice. the only choice lies in wether we want to believe it or not. Some people dont even chose that, they just are blind to what Faith tells them. And anyone's mind can be changed on anything they view if the appropriate reality is presented in front of their eyes. Only problem is, most views cannot be presented visually as closure.

Answer 3

If you understand faith to be a virtue, then it must be accepted freely to be what it is. If one is co-erced to believe, then faith is not a virtue, but some kind of tyrranical imposition. If one understands faith to be a gift, then when faced with this gift, one is compelled to decision-- and that decision is open to acceptance or rejection. If faith is imposed, it is not a gift.

Further, if God is who he is, then the human act of faith, whether it is accepted or rejected, neither increases or diminishes his nature or existence. God has no need of our faith to be who he is.

Faith is also not an exercise in certitude, by its nature faith admits more concerning what is not knowable, than what is actually knowable. When one says one has faith, this should not mean that one has all the answers, but that one exists in a relationship to an Unconditioned and Absolute Reality that some call God.

Answer 4

faith is a choice and a learned behavior or reality, some of us were raised to be devout religious followers but chose not to believe in religious mythology, hypocrisy or intolerance and chose not to have faith.

faith requires emotional thinking which is the lowest form of thought compared to analysis or other higher levels of thinking and also the most powerful form of thinking , so it makes sense that those who believe in faith will not be swayed. it is much easier to keep a closed mind than to open it.

Answer 5

I couldn't "choose" to believe that leprechauns are the reason I can't find my keys in the morning. I couldn't "choose" to have faith that there's an elf in control of the light in the fridge.

I think the only choice related to faith is the choice to ignore any evidence that contradicts that belief.

Answer 6

I don't think so. I think that people are wired to believe in science or religion. I don't have anything against religious types, except insofar as they think that they have a monopoly on goodness and want to make laws to enforce their wacky notions on others.

Answer 7

Faith is just an excuse for lack of willingness to admit the false.

Answer 8

faith means to trust, or to believe without reason. It is absolutely a choice!

Now if you're talking logical positivism or fideism......

Answer 9

If someone is taught from birth that God created the universe and that Jesus died for their sins, then that person will never know freedom of religion.

Answer 10

Faith and belief only exist in the imagination. That is why the imaginary man resides there also.